Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan talk with Kung-Fu star Jackie Chan as they attend a 'Creative Collaborations: UK & China' event at Lancaster House on Oct. 21, 2015 in London, England. (Photo : Getty Images/ WPA Pool/ Heathcliff O'Malley )
New Panama Papers leaks have created another storm in Hong Kong and Macau. They include 18 high-profile names that are reported to have established several complex offshore firms, including film star Jackie Chan.
While several celebrities named in the Panama Papers, such as Li Ka-shing, Lee Shau Kee and the deputy chairman of the New Democratic Party, Michael Tien Puk-sun, have expressed regrets for failing to proclaim their interests in the offshore investment, Chan remains silent on the issue, The Epoch Times reported.
A favorite of the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, Chan has time and again outraged the Chinese citizens by his speeches gratifying the CCP. The latest Panama Papers leaks have now exposed how the CCP used political as well as business network to corrupt Chan. According to the leaks, the purported network comprises seven tycoons, four of them well-known billionaires, from mainland China who are running businesses with Chan.
A popular Hollywood A-lister, who began his career as a martial arts artist, Chan is also an active member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee. In this capacity, the actor actively mingled with senior government officers as well as businessmen in mainland China.
Nevertheless, Chan's fate has not been kind to him of late, as he has been suffering one misfortune after another. The Beijing police arrested his son Jaycee Chan in August 2014. Even the products endorsed by the actor have suffered major losses, were troubled by scandals or even faced closure. Somewhat disgraced and satirized by netizens as a "jinx," he even did not attend the CCP annual political meetings in 2016 for the first time.
One of the leaked Panama files revealed that Mossack Fonseca & Co. is the authorized agent of no less than six offshore companies owned by Chan. The other directors of these companies comprise the actor's wife Joan Lin and their son Jaycee Chan, Time reported.
In addition, Dragon Stream Limited, a company owned by Chan, was established in the British Virgin Islands by 10 people in 2008. Chan holds the largest number of shares, 50 million shares. Of the nine remaining shareholders, seven are among the richest people in China. Two other shareholders are his business partners.
While the nature of Dragon Stream's business could not be ascertained, the curriculum vitae of a supposed deputy general manager of Jackie Chan (Beijing) Beverage Co. Ltd. on LinkedIn is said to have disclosed that the company was established ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by Chan and seven other entrepreneurs from mainland.
Having a capital of 200 million yuan (US$30 million), the company dealt in production and sale of premium beverages and mineral water in the Chinese domestic market. The seven other entrepreneurs include Shen Guojun and Qi Jianhong and their identities are same as the seven rich shareholders of Dragon Stream.
Watch the video on "The Panama Papers: Victims of offshore investments" below:
